Fisher Wins Texas Primary In a Run for Senate Seat

A MILLIONAIRE investor beat Jim Mattox to become Texas Democrats' candidate for the United States Senate and will face Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson in the fall.

Richard Fisher said his victory Tuesday was a rejection of the old-style politics he said Mr. Mattox typified.

``I argue for dramatic change in the way government is structured and who it stands for. To get back to the Harry Truman doctrine of representing people, not special interests. I represent a rebellion against divisiveness,'' he said.

With all but three precincts counted, Mr. Fisher had 54 percent, or 400,410 votes, to 46 percent, or 347,689 votes, for Mattox.

Fisher's resume is mixed: executive assistant to the Treasury secretary during President Carter's administration, co-founder with then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton of the moderate Democratic Leadership Council, and foreign policy adviser to Ross Perot in the 1992 presidential race.

He used his own money to outspend Mattox 2-to-1, and his fluency in Spanish helped him gain large majorities in mostly Hispanic south Texas, despite Mattox's record of supporting issues important there.

The Democrats also chose Ken Bentsen to face Republican Gene Fontenot for the House seat being vacated by Democrat Mike Andrews, who lost a bid for the Senate.

Republicans also chose two House candidates Tuesday, nominating Jo Baylor in the race to succeed Democrat J.J. ``Jake'' Pickle, who is retiring, and picking businessman Carols R. ``Bobby'' Ortiz to challenge Democratic Rep. Ron Coleman. Midwestern rivers rising

MIDWESTERN rivers kept rising today after three days of steady rain that forced scattered evacuations from Oklahoma to Ohio.

Forecasters said a repeat of last summer's disastrous floods isn't likely. But Denise Warner's customers at the post office in Portage des Sioux, Mo., where streets were flooded, had doubts. ``A lot of them are coming in just shaking their heads,'' Warner said. ``They're saying, `Boy, I sure don't want to go through this again,' and `Didn't we do this about this time last year?'''

Up to a foot of rain had fallen on parts of Missouri since Saturday. The Mississippi River was expected to crest about 4 feet above flood stage today at St. Louis. The Missouri River rose 7 feet in 24 hours at Jefferson City, Hermann and Washington, Mo. At Hermann, the river was expected to crest at 34 feet today, 13 feet above flood stage.

Wintry weather was the problem elsewhere. Soggy snow downed power lines in the western half of Nebraska, where up to a foot of snow fell.